Take a Bite
by Lady Tol
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy realized that he might have bitten off more that he could chew when he agreed to tutor Lily Potter. Lily II/Scorpius. Rating for later chapters.
1. Insane Hogwarts Student Loose

Lily Potter was pissed off. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop strands of hair from falling loose from her ponytail and going straight into her face and over her eyes. She couldn't shut up the Hufflepuff Second Years, whose gossip must have been oh-so bloody important, in the row behind her for even a moment, and she couldn't keep the nagging voice in her head that told her that none of this was going to be even worth it quiet.

Lilt was hunched over her Potions book in the Library in a desperate attempt to understand even a small iota of what her examination would be on the following day. In many cases, Lily didn't find studying necessary or worthwhile, but Potions was an entirely different matter. The complexities and theory of the class had escaped her understanding since First Year, and had only grown worse over the next three. If she even wanted a chance at passing this year, the rest of her work had to be spot on.

A few more pieces of hair slipped out of her ponytail and angrily pulled the elastic band out of her hair, snapping it in the process. On most other occasions, when Lily was acting like a sane human being, she would have just pulled out her wand and repaired it. But Lily was not of sound mind at this particular moment. She chucked the faulty band as far as she possibly could across the library and was contemplating doing the same thing with her stupid, confusing, and utterly unhelpful textbook, even picking it up, when someone walked by the stacks she was sitting amongst.

"Potter, are you okay?" Scorpius Malfoy asked worriedly as he grabbed the book from her, though hindsight suggested that this was not the appropriate choice of words. Lily looked just about ready to seriously harm something. This something had previously been her textbook, but now most likely her Slytherin housemate.

"Do I look okay to you, Malfoy?" The Fourth Year demanded. She had not really known Malfoy all that well, except for the fact that they were both in Slytherin and he was in her brother's year. They were also both on the Quidditch team, but neither of them tried all that hard to make much an acquaintance. This was mostly because her brother James had told her awful rumors about the Sixth Year and his family, with a suggestion to stay away.

"Well, um, no," Malfoy stammered for a second before gaining her composure. "But I wasn't exactly sure who you were planning on murdering, and I thought it was my civic duty to prevent such a heinous crime."

Lily snorted, and flopped ungracefully into her chair, her momentary lapse of insanity passed.

"Sorry about that," she smiled wearily. "I just lost it for a second there. But nothing in that bloody and moronic book," she pointed an accusatory finger at the offending reading material that Malfoy was protectively holding, "makes any sense."

Malfoy looked scandalized and quickly sat down next to Lily while placing the book down reverently.

"How could you say something like that? Potion making is one of the most amazing things we do as wizards and witches. Think about all the complexities and bringing together-"

Lily cut him off. She had heard it all before from Professor Slughorn and various other Potions experts.

"I don't get it at all. I just go to class and don't understand a word of what's going on. I'm going to fail and there's nothing I can do about it." She dropped her head into her hands with a sigh of defeat. Scorpius wasn't sure whether she was about to cry or not, and he was not a huge fan of hysterical girls. To avoid that embarrassing situation, Scorpius said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Would you like me to help you study?" He wasn't completely sure why he offered, but it seemed like the right thing to do. The poor girl looked inches away from another mental break, and Scorpius just couldn't leave her like that.

"Really?" Lily looked up. The only people who had offered her help before were her cousin Rose and Albus, her brother. Neither of them was able to do anything, and their study sessions would usually just dissolve into fights.

"Yeah, I mean you look like you kind of need it. Besides, what are teammates for?" Scorpius opened up the book in front of him. "What are you having trouble with?"

"Everything," Lily said quietly with an air of embarrassment.

"Oh." Scorpius realized that he might have bitten off more that he could chew.


	2. Innocent Little Study Sessions

**A/N: I originally had Scorpius as a sixth year and Lily in fourth, then changed it at the last minute before publishing and I've decided to change it back because that just feels more appropriate. I've changed it in the first chapter for future readers, but I wanted to let those who haven't reread that to know. Also, is "you ass" an appropriate insult for someone English? I honestly don't know but if someone does, I'll be eternally grateful. In addition, basically this whole chapter was typed on my iPod, so if you see any glaring issues in spelling/grammar/flow, please point them out to me. Thanks for reading and please review. Knowing people like my work legitimately inspires me!**

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Scorpius had not fully grasped what he had signed up for when he first offered his help to the youngest Potter. He had simply assumed that he would help her study two or three times, she would pass her Potions test with flying colors thanks to his superb tutelage, and there would be no more need for his expertise. The blonde had been quite wrong.

Scorpius had either overestimated his teaching ability or -as he preferred to believe- underestimated Lily's lack of knowledge. She did show some improvement in her Potions work, which was hard not to do Scorpius thought bitterly once after he explained one concept to her for a third time, but it was not enough for either of them to be satisfied. And so that was why the two were sitting in the Library three months after Scorpius' initial offer of help.

Tonight was one of the nights in which Lily only seemed to need his help a few times as she worked diligently on her latest assignment, so Scorpius sat across from her and worked on his own studies. Though neither of them was likely to admit it to other people, especially each other, they had grown to enjoy each other's company whether they were legitimately working or just goofing off when neither was feeling motivated. They had become comfortable enough that silence, like the type that was occurring right now, was much more comfortable than awkward.

Their quills scratched against their parchment in the quiet of the library, and they were both so absorbed in their work that neither Lily nor Scorpius realized the figure standing over them until he coughed quite loudly and interrupted their flow of ideas.

"This certainly looks interesting," James Potter said nonchalantly, but both occupants of the table could recognize the accusation in his voice. The two Slytherins looked up at the seventh year nervously, then back to each other.

Scorpius and James had never been best buddies, far from it. James had been one of the kids who mocked and been nasty to Scorpius when he had first arrived at Hogwarts. While this behavior had mostly subsided -James didn't have the attention span or passion to bully only one person for an extended length of time-, James and Scorpius were certainly not high on each other's Christmas lists.

"Far from it, actually," Lily said as she gained her composure. "Awhile ago, Malfoy here offered to help me a bit with Potions homework and such after I almost decapitated someone out of frustration. That's all we're doing." She looked at him pointedly, daring him to consider the possibility of anything beyond study partners. "Homework."

"'Awhile ago,'" James quoted, clearly missing the rest of Lily's impromptu speech once that little fact was disclosed. He sat down next to Lily. Without taking his eyes off Malfoy, he asked, "And how long approximately is 'awhile.'"

Both members of the guilty party shrugged, but it was Scorpius who answered.

"Oh, I'm not sure," he smirked, somewhat enjoying the fact that he irritating the exceptionally annoying James Potter. "Maybe two and a half, three months." Scorpius could tell that James was considering what to do next very carefully, which was not a course of action that James Potter or any other Gryffindor generally employed. But Scorpius realized that Potter was trying to find something, anything, wrong about the innocent situation.

"Well, if it's just homework, d'you mind if I stick around?" James had already kicked his feet up on the chair opposite him and was looking ridiculously arrogant, when he was answered.

"Actually, we do," Lily said with a tinge of anger. Scorpius was quite relieved that Lily felt the same way she did, and was more than happy to add to the rejection.

"Neither of us do well with distractions, else we'd study in our Common Room," he said. Scorpius hoped to clearly indicate that James Annoying Prat Potter was not invited or welcome to the study session that he had come to enjoy.

James got up in a huff, though Scorpius was sure that he was at least a little relieved to getting out of the library that he couldn't have spent more than an hour in during his Hogwarts career.

"So sorry," he exclaimed sarcastically and loudly enough to earn himself a prolonged stare from Madam Pince, the librarian. "I'll be sure not to disturb you like this ever again." Scorpius highly doubted this, and expressed this concern to Lily once James was out of earshot.

"I wouldn't worry too much about him," Lily said with a smile. "Maybe he'll write to my parents and the whole family will get a good ribbing in over Christmas break." Lily sighed and threw her Potions work into her bag, clearly done for the day. "He can't seem to forget about the little six year old girl who came to him to get rid of the monsters under the bed."

"'Monsters under the bed,'" Scorpius chuckled. "I never expected you to be the type to be afraid of things creepy and crawly under the bed." Lily hit him on the arm playfully as the two Slytherins gathered their things.

"I was being figurative, you ass."

"You sure, because I can check under your bed tonight, if you'd like?" Scorpius asked suggestively, winking at her as they left the library together.

"Why do I subject myself to this? You're absolutely insufferable."


	3. Soggy Practices

"Alright, alright, everyone, bring it in!" The Slytherin Quidditch Captain, Nelson Walsh, had finally called a grueling three hour long practice in the pouring rain and howling wind. The entire team hurried to the dressing room and looked unsurprising like drowned rats when they could see each other.

"That was so productive," Scorpius, a Chaser, sneered under his breath as he began stripping off the outer layer of his drenched robes. He quickly looked at Lily while he was talking, who hid her smile appropriately.

"Nice job today, Potter," Walsh said as though he didn't hear Scorpius or at purposefully ignored him.

"Not very hard, when none of you could see the goal posts," Lily the Keeper shrugged. When half the shots either didn't make it far enough or weren't even on target there wasn't all that much to be thrilled about.

Walsh talked to them for a few more minutes, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses and then discussing the match against Gryffindor that would take place two weeks later, before dismissing them to get undressed. Lily moved quickly out of the room and into the adjacent bathroom where, as the only girl on the team, she always changed by herself. Lily was thinking about the Chasers that she would face during the match and their tendencies and moves when she exited the bathroom fully dressed to find Scorpius sitting patiently on one of the benches.

"Oh, hello," she said, a little shocked. "Did everyone leave you here to wait for me?"

"No, I volunteered," Scorpius grinned. "A lovely lady like you shouldn't have to run all the way up to the castle all by herself."

"Well, Mr. Chivalry, how very kind of you." Lily smiled, secretly glad that someone had decided to stay back and even happier that it turned out to be Scorpius who stayed behind. She wasn't friendly with most of the guys on the team, probably due to the fact that she was the youngest, the only girl, and a member of the Potter family. Some members of her house still found the latter fact somewhat unnerving.

"Give me your bag," Scorpius said, holding out his hands for the pack holding her Quidditch robes.

"I was joking about the whole chivalry thing, ya know" she smirked, but handed her things over. "None of the guys I know have ever done anything like this before. I quite like it."

"You obviously haven't met very many decent guys."

"Well, I certainly haven't dated them." Their laughter was cut short once they reached the door of the changing room that led to the Hogwarts Grounds. Rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was howling menacingly. They looked at each other, gathered their courage and sprinted to the castle. Luckily for them, it wasn't late enough for the doors to be locked.

"Well, changing looks a bit useless now, huh?" Lily said as she looked at herself and Scorpius. They were drenched yet again, but now they were panting and completely out of breath. They started their walk down to the dungeons and Common Room, talking about the upcoming match and Quidditch in general.

"At least we didn't drown out there," Scorpius said as though it were entirely possible. "Why in the name of Merlin we had to practice in that God-awful weather is beyond me. I don't think I got one good shot off."

"No you didn't," Lily agreed matter-of-factly. Scorpius looked at her incredulously, still carrying her bag over his shoulder.

"You were supposed to tell me that I was the best one out there today, and no one could hold a candle to me."

"I could have, but that would be lying," Lily said nonchalantly while Scorpius shook his head in disbelief.

She turned to the seemingly unimpressive stretch of wall that served as the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room and muttered the password.

"Well if that's the case," Scorpius said in a voice that did not make Lily feel very comfortable. "I guess you don't want your things back."

He ran before Lily could even react, and was down the path that led to his dormitory. She had her wand out, but it was too late to hit him with a spell, so she just decided to run after him. She passed a few doors before finding the Sixth Year Boys' room and attacked the door, but it was locked and _Alohamora _did nothing to help.

"Scorpius," she whined, which was something she did not normally do. But Lily was tired, drenched, and sore to the bone. And she was not at all happy with her teammate. "Give me my stuff back."

"Say 'please,"' Scorpius demanded through the door. Lily bit her tongue to avoid saying anything too nasty.

"Fine! Please?" Scorpius opened the door and handed the bag back somewhat reluctantly. Lily snatched it ever so nicely.

"That wasn't very sincere," Scorpius accused. "But I kinda like you, or else I would have gone through it and looked for your knickers."

"Well, surprising as this might sound, I'm actually wearing my knickers, so your search would have been fruitless."

"Can I see those then?" Scorpius asked. Lily sincerely hoped he was joking.

"In your dreams," Lily answered. She turned on her heel and walked away.

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**A/N: Not sure how I feel about this, but I've been sitting on it for a while so I decided to just post it. We'll see how it goes I guess.**

**Please review! You don't understand how happy it makes me and how much I appreciate it!**


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